Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Primeburger

It's been a hard few months for a couple of classic midtown institutions. First Bill's Gay Nineties closed. Now Primeburger is shutting its doors after 74 years in business.

Stepping into Primeburger is like stepping back in time: waiters wear white coats, the menu has half a grapefruit and individual tins of sardines on offer, and Prime's single-diner seating alone is probably enough to grant the restaurant landmark status.

I stopped in on Tuesday for a lunch of grilled swiss on rye with tomato. According to the gentleman I spoke with, Prime's last day in business is Saturday which means there is still just enough time to head to 51st Street to order a burger, orange sherbert, rice pudding, or cinnamon toast.

To keep the memories alive, Eater.com has compiled reminiscences from Primeburger servers, This Must Be the Place has a wonderful short film on Prime, and, last but not least, the menu collection at the New York Public Library now has a Primeburger bill of fare in its archive.

I ate there a couple of months before hearing it would be closed. The interior was run-down and dingy. The burgers, fries & onion rings we ordered were terrible. The service was not so good. Sad. I never got to see what others saw in it. I guess it was time for it to go.

About Me

Rebecca Federman is a librarian at the New York Public Library. She works with both subscription databases and food collections, including the Library's menu collection. She was also the co-curator of Lunch Hour NYC. Her favorite food is, and always has been, spaghetti.